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Curiosities of ancient Rome (Unknown facts)

The world of ancient Romans abounded in a number of amazing curiosities and information. The source of knowledge about the life of the Romans are mainly works left to us by ancient writers or discoveries. The Romans left behind a lot of strange information and facts that are sometimes hard to believe.

Roman Mysteries

Ancient Romans worshipped many gods and, like the ancient Greeks, performed mysteries and took part in cult ceremonies, often of an orgiastic nature. Many of them are still shrouded in mystery and little can be said about these practices.

Bacchanalia

What arts did ancient Romans like?

In the work “Daily Life in Ancient Rome” by Jérôme Carcopino, the author writes that the ancient Romans chose primarily dramas with macabre content, full of horror that made the viewer tremble.

Visualization of the Roman theater in Verulamium (today's city of St Albans, England) from around 180 CE, by Alan Sorrell

Baths of Caracalla were largest baths in empire

The Baths of Caracalla were the largest baths in the empire. Built in 216 CE the baths could simultaneously accommodate 1,500 people. The bathing plan was as follows: upon entering, you entered the bathhouse, then into the heated tepidarium room, preparing the body for hot baths in the caldarium.

Baths of Caracalla

Infamy for gladiator

According to Roman terms, every person participating in gladiatorial fights was put under infamy, a loss of honour. This was associated with the deprivation of most public rights, limitation of legal capacity, deprivation of legal protection (e.g. torture could be used). In a legal sense, therefore, each gladiator (with very few exceptions) was on the margins of Roman society.

Russell Crowe as General Maximus in Gladiator

Roman nobles grew moray eels in ponds

The Roman aristocracy had such exorbitant needs that it even built ponds (piscinae or vivaria piscorum) on its enormous property, in which various species of fish lived, including moray eels.

Fish on the Roman mosaic

Reasons for Huns invasion to west?

Huns in ancient sources appear as beings worse than wild animals that came from the Far East and conquer other peoples standing in their way. Lack of information as to their origin and the motives for further aggressive conquests, an interesting explanation was made.

The Huns during the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains, Alphonse de Neuville

Roman sexual terms

Naturally, ancient Romans also had their own expressions for all sexual activities. For example, the word cinaede meant a person who was anally penetrated.

Roman fresco showing sex

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